But Not Forgotten
by obsessedwithstabler
Summary: Children are forgotten. It's our job to remember them.


A challenge that I was given while working on the new chapter of Critical Condition and a preemptive strike against the finale. Very short and sweet. The sentence given to me was, "Children are forgotten; it's our job to remember them." Very fitting of SVU, huh? Enjoy, and please review!

For Sarah, who gave me the challenge in an effort to help me reach my goal of 500 stories before my 21st birthday! Thanks, bunny!

Disclaimer: Not mine!

SVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVUSVU

Elliot Stabler was not a man who cried.

All of his life, he had been taught to keep his emotions in check, never show weakness. Use fists, not words to get your point across. His dad had used his fists to get his point across on this subject, and most every other one.

But there were a few times when he had laid down his father's words and allowed himself the small pleasure of breaking down completely. When each of his children were born, Maureen's first day of kindergarten, and the day he almost lost his partner to a madman with a knife in a bus station. There were other occasions when he had come close to shedding tears, but not like that.

And then there was today.

He felt the hot tears rolling down his cheeks, but he made no effort to stop them, or even wipe them away. He didn't care who saw. After all, he was in the middle of a cemetery. This was a natural place for tears, wasn't it?

A soft breath escaped him as he studied the tombstone. Ryan Matthew Clifford. Date of birth: June 3rd, 1996. Date of death: March 29th, 2006. Not even ten years old, and his life was over.

His hand came up to rub his stubbled chin. No matter how hard they tried, no matter how many children they saved, there would always be the one that they couldn't. And the ones that he couldn't save were the ones who always haunted his dreams, especially when he could have saved them. Like Ryan. Instead of following his job, he had followed his heart and gone after his partner that cold day, and Ryan had paid the ultimate price for it.

Kneeling in the soft grass, he hesitated before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small teddy bear. He turned it over in his hands, studying it before he gently placed it on Ryan's grave. Every year he made it a point to come here on Ryan's birthday, a tradition he had started the year the boy's life had been mercilessly ended. His parents and older sister had been brutally slaughtered, and his younger sister wasn't permitted to visit the cemetery since his funeral.

He scrubbed his hand roughly over his face and sighed.

A gentle hand came to rest on his shoulder, and he closed his eyes. "He was so young, Liv."

Olivia gently squeezed her partner's shoulder. "I know," she whispered. She understood the burden of guilt that he carried, because she carried it, too. She had let Gitano get too close to her, and as a result, Elliot had run to her side instead of going to help Ryan. As much as he blamed himself for Ryan's death, she blamed herself, too.

He reached up and rested his hand over hers, squeezing lightly.

A young woman carrying a single red rose walked past them, and for a moment, she studied them carefully. "A relative?" she finally asked, her voice soft.

Olivia shook her head, but it was Elliot who spoke. "A young boy we knew."

The woman's face was touched by sadness as she read the stone. "Not even ten years old…"

Another tear slid down Elliot's cheek, and when Olivia placed her palm against the side of his face, he leaned into her gentle touch. "Children are forgotten. It's our job to remember them," he finally said as a way of explanation.

"They should never be forgotten," the young woman replied, giving the couple a sad glance before she walked away.

Elliot studied the teddy bear for a minute longer, then finally got to his feet and took his partner by the hand. "We'll be back, Ryan." His voice was soft and his words were nearly lost on the wind, but Olivia heard them.

She squeezed his hand and led him away from the grave, and as they walked back to the car, they both could have sworn that they heard the laughter of a young child carried on the wind.

The End.

A/N: Very sad, but begged to be written. And now I have a challenge for my readers! I'm writing a preemptive strike against the finale, and I've decided that it will be a dramatic songfic. But I can't seem to decide on a song. It will be bloody (if you've seen the previews, you know) and someone may die. I have considered the songs Battlefield, by Jordin Sparks, I'll Stand By You, by the Pretenders, and I'll Be, by Edwin Mccain. What do you guys think? Or do you have a better suggestion? Let me know, so I can write it before Wednesday! Thanks for reading!


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